Wellard ISDE Club Team Return to the Winner's Podium

Wellard Club Team rider Ryan Sipes has emerged victorious in the C2 division of the International Six Day Enduro (ISDE), performing well against some of the world’s top Enduro riders and spearheading a successful Wellard assault on the Enduro world’s largest event.

The event, in Sardinia, Italy, attracted more than six hundred riders who created 180 teams from thirty-two countries.

Competing In his first ISDE, Sipes turned in a fantastic effort winning the C2 division outright and narrowly missing the overall Club rider win, placing third after the six days of competition.

Sipes posted the fastest times in 21 of the 31 special tests and comfortably won the last day’s Motocross test by more than 30 seconds.

Wellard Club Teammate Nick Fahringer posted a third outright in the C3 division and consolidated the team’s position with an excellent seventh place in the Motocross test. Consistent riding all week helped Fahringer take a special test win on day two and finished inside the top six in all of the remaining 30 special tests during the week.

Jimmy Jarrett anchored the team, delivering a consistent performance by placing fifth outright in the C2 division, and with only three special test times outside the top ten, ensured a podium for the Wellard Club Team riders.

Overall, the Wellard team placed second in the Club Team division, equalling Wellard’s best ISDE result. Each rider completed 1600 kilometres of racing throughout the six day event, which required a blend of speed and consistency.

Following the Club Team’s success, the USA National team who also carried Wellard’s logo clinched second place for the World Trophy Team’s and the USA Junior National team came in fourth in the Junior World Trophy Team division.

Wellard Chairman Mauro Balzarini said the company was overwhelmed to see so many Wellard supported riders perform so well at the ISDE and he was proud of their individual and team efforts.

“Wellard is a company committed to teamwork and we are proud to have seen such a brilliant display of that teamwork at the ISDE. All of the Wellard riders did exceptionally well, and we are delighted to have been a successful part of such a prestigious event,” Mr Balzarini said.

“The Six Days is a very tough race which takes much skill and mental toughness to finish.

“Over the past seven years of our involvement Wellard’s Club Teams have benefited greatly from ISDE team manager Peter Strickland’s experience and ability to identify fast riders. After so many ISDEs, he is really a specialist in this area and is already thinking about how to repeat the success in San Juan, Argentina, next year.”

Background – Wellard Rural and Trading

Wellard is a world leader in the production and distribution of livestock and grain.

Its two largest subsidiaries are Wellard Rural Exports, Australia’s largest livestock exporter and ship owner, and Wellard Agri, a large mixed farming land owner and operator specialising in the production of grains, legumes and livestock.

Wellard Rural Exports has supplied quality dairy and beef cattle and sheep and goats to the world for more than 30 years, its investment in the live export industry is without peer. Based in Fremantle, Western Australia, the company’s operations cover every aspect of the export chain, including feed milling, livestock aggregation, road transport, feedlot facilities throughout Australia and modern shipping.

The company’s flagship carrier, the MV Ocean Drover (formerly the MV Becrux), is a purpose-built livestock carrier capable of carrying 75,000 sheep or 18,000 cattle to major markets around the globe. She was commissioned in 2002.

Two new, technologically advanced, purpose-built vessels, the MV Ocean Swagman and the MV Ocean Outback, were launched in 2010. They offer unparalleled levels of safety for the livestock, crew and vessel, and can transport 7000 cattle, 25,000 sheep, or a combination of both.

Wellard Agri owns and operates eight farms covering 33,000 hectares across three agri-hubs. The two northern hubs are located at Dongara and Watheroo in Western Australia’s central midlands and one is located at Kojonup in the Great Southern region of WA.

The Dongara hub is home to The Grange, a 14,500 hectare property which is considered one of Western Australia’s blue chip farming properties.

The remaining landholding totals more than 18,000 hectares, of which 14,000 hectares is cropped to a variety of grains and legumes. The other 4000ha is devoted to sheep production, including the famous Hyfield Poll Merino stud at Kojonup. In addition, Wellard leases an additional 14,500ha for livestock and grain production.

Wellard Agri also has operations in the farm machinery sector, through management of the CLAAS Harvest Centres at Katanning and Esperance for the Landpower range of farm machinery.